Book Title
by Sda209
Summary: After a trip to the bookstore, Maka was enjoying her newest book when Soul suddenly asks if he could borrow it. -Not much implied SoMa.


"Hey, Maka."

Maka lifted her head up from her latest book, purchased just several minutes ago from the nearby bookstore. She wondered why Soul wanted to grab her attention at a time like this, the novel she was reading is already starting to become suspenseful! Her olive eyes, full of irritation and question, matched Soul's own blood eyes, clearly demanding him why he is interrupting her read at a time like this. He was sitting lazily on the metal chair, with one foot propped up on his chin, a cold Coke in his hand.

She curiously asked, "What is it?"

Her partner shifted a little in his seat, getting into a more comfortable position from his usual lazy one. The action only raised more questions for Maka; what did he intend to do?

"What's the name of that book you're reading?"

The scythe technician gawked at Soul as if his albinism suddenly disappeared and was replaced with more normal-looking colors, like some kind of ridiculous joke. He was never the one to ask for the title of a book, much less reading one. Maka was not sure if her partner was secretly joking and was waiting for the right moment to prank her, or he was actually being serious about the name of the book.

"Hey," Soul began with a scratch to the back of his neck, "It's alright if you don't answer. I-It's not like I care or anything about some book—"

"The Sword of Daniel."

Maka noticed the stunned look in Soul's facial features, but she didn't dwell on it. The look on his face was almost comical, even, like Maka became a mime out of the blue and was performing some cliché mime trick in front of him. Maybe he was planning to prank her, Maka thought with skepticism. Or, maybe he was genuinely surprised that his Meister would even care to answer him, considering that he has no interest in reading at all.

"'The Sword of Daniel'?" Soul inquired, as if he wasn't sure he heard Maka correctly. Maka gave an affirmative nod in response, and, after placing a bookmark on the page she was on, showed him the title cover for the book.

"It's about an obscure weaponsmith creating a special steel sword for a Paladin named "Daniel". He would use this sword to defeat great evils, rescue prisoners of war, save the king's subjects, escort princesses and princes, stop dragons, and slay troll kings. But, I don't want to spoil the actual plot if you're interested in reading the book."

Maka broke the gaze with Soul, about to return to reading her fantasy novel. Suddenly, he got up from his chair and walked in front of her, arms lazily crossed, and asked her possibly the most ridiculous question that she had ever heard, "C-Can I borrow it for a bit?"

"Sure...?" her response sounded more hesitant than definite. She was more surprised to make sense of it, to be honest.

"Great," Soul replied, an underlying tone that seemed anxious. "Just tell me when you're done reading the book, alright?"

The scythe technician was completely uncertain on how to deal with the situation. It was becoming awkward and tense as the seconds go by, and, at this rate, she could have swore that her cheeks were going to redden with embarrassment. What was even worse, however, was that she had no reason to discipline Soul with her rather violent techniques. All he did was just asked her the book's title and if he could borrow it for a bit; no remarks about her breast size, no screwing around like an idiot, no insulting other people, none of that. Funny, Maka always thought that Soul acting normal would be a nice change, and now, she was already a little disturbed by his normalcy.

Maybe he deserves a break for once, Maka thought. It wouldn't hurt to let him borrow it.

She placed the book in front of Soul, a content smile on her face. Soul was taken aback by her abrupt gesture, but realization immediately struck him and he returned the smile with his signature serrated grin. "Thanks for letting me borrow it, Maka."

"No problem," she replied back. "Just remember to give the book back to me once you're done reading it."

"I'll try to."

Maka rolled in her eyes in a contemporary sigh as Soul released a hearty laugh.


End file.
